Samarria Brevard of Riverside competes in the Women’s Street SemiFinal during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Samarria Brevard of the USA competes in the WomenÕs Street SemiFinal during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Samarria Brevard of the USA competes in the WomenÕs Street SemiFinal during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

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Fans look on during the Women’s Street SemiFinal during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Funa Nakayama of Japan falls as she competes in the WomenÕs Street SemiFinal during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Funa Nakayama of Japan falls as she competes in the WomenÕs Street SemiFinal during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Margielyn Arda Didal of the Philippines looks toward the cameras prior to competing in the WomenÕs Street SemiFinal during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Margielyn Arda Didal of the Philippines crashes on an attempt in the WomenÕs Street SemiFinal during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Yumeka Oda of Japan competes in the Women’s Street SemiFinal during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Yumeka Oda of Japan competes in the Women’s Street SemiFinal during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Momiji Nishiya of Japan competes in the Women’s Street SemiFinal during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Rayssa Leal of Brazil competes in the Women’s Street SemiFinal during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Candy Jacob of the Netherlands falls as she competes in the Women’s Street SemiFinal during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Leticia Bufoni of Brazil competes in the Women’s SemiFinal Street Course during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Leticia Bufoni of Brazil competes in the Women’s SemiFinal Street Course during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Virginia Fortes Aguas of Brazil competes in the Women’s SemiFinal Street Course during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Mariah Duran of the USA competes in the Women’s SemiFinal Street Course during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Lacey Baker of the USA competes in the Women’s SemiFinal Street Course during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Lacey Baker of the USA competes in the Women’s SemiFinal Street Course during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Lacey Baker of the USA competes in the Women’s SemiFinal Street Course during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Lacey Baker of the USA competes in the Women’s SemiFinal Street Course during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Aori Nishimura of Japan competes in the Women’s SemiFinal Street Course during the Dew Tour at the Long Beach Convention Center on Friday, June 14, 2019 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

LONG BEACH – Samarria Brevard chuckled like she knew the question was coming: “How does it feel to be called the Serena Williams of skateboarding?”

It has nothing to do with skin color. Rather, it is her style — her passion, her authenticity, her approach to the sport. The 25-year-old Riverside native is one of skateboarding’s most powerful athletes. After breaking through with a silver medal in women’s street in the 2017 X Games, Brevard has her sights set on making the United States 2020 Olympic team.

Brevard’s peers call her the “gnarliest street skater out there.” She takes chances. She conquers the largest stair sets on the course, rides the longest rails, does the biggest tricks. Brevard’s favorite trick to pull is the “tre flip,” where “your board does a kick flip while spinning 360 degrees.”

To Brevard, there’s nothing better than landing a tre flip.

On Friday in the semifinals of the Dew Tour, the preliminary global qualifying event in the U.S. for the Tokyo Games, Brevard had five attempts to land at least two tricks to advance to the street finals. She fell on her first three runs. On the fourth, she tried a tre flip and fell. Then on the fifth, she opted for a backside flip but couldn’t land it. She placed 22nd out of 24 skaters.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Her Dew Tour ended early. But she always goes big.

“She does harder stuff than anyone is willing to risk,” said her agent, Yulin Olliver.

Brevard’s skateboarding career started by happenstance. She played basketball growing up, and was on her high school team at Poly High School. But one day when she was 12, while she was shooting hoops, she noticed her brother and her friend skateboarding. They lived in the same apartment complex in Riverside and did everything together.

Brevard went over and joined in. By the end of the day, she was hooked.

“Got me a board,” she said, “and kept it going.”

The summer after her junior year of high school, Brevard was all-in. She didn’t even want to play basketball her senior year. She trained at The Berrics, a renowned indoor skate park near downtown L.A, where she found herself at the same place as professionals and fellow up-and-comers.

“This is sick,” she thought to herself.

That realization made Brevard want to keep skating. She had a base in Riverside, a “good vibe growing up” with her brothers and friends. Oliver called her grounded, a positive thinker who is introspective, gentle and kind. She is not superficial but authentic. She is about people and integrity.

Someday, she would like to pay it back, and introduce skateboarding to kids in her hometown. Brevard grew up close to downtown Riverside, near Crooks Skateboard Shop on 9th Street, where local skaters would come to hang out. Those were her role models.

Now, Brevard serves as a role model.

She became the first African American to win the Women’s Street World Championships in 2014 and the first to medal in the X Games. She was featured on VICELAND. Her skateboards are sponsored by Enjoi, and she recently signed a new shoe deal with New Balance as one of the few women on their skate team.

Brevard thinks that skating is already diverse. Forty-five countries are represented at the Dew Tour, and out of the eight skaters who made the women’s street final on Sunday, there are participants from five different countries. She has seen what people of color have done and can do in the sport.

“People are going to skate and look at courses differently,” Brevard said. “Ultimately, that’s what it’s going to lead up to is more progression, especially on the female side. We’re going to be stepping it up just because we’re not going to be able to stay the same. We have to push it forward.”

Given her risk-taking style, Brevard might be the perfect skater to lead this movement. She didn’t medal in the 2017 X Games in Minneapolis by being passive. On her final run, Brevard’s first attempt at a tre flip went well — until she just lost balance on the landing and fell. But she got right back up, gathered momentum and tried again.

And she stuck it — the tre flip — over the same flight of eight steps of stairs. Brevard received a score of 84.66, vaulting her from 11th place into second to claim silver. That was gnarly, like a Serena Williams backhand winner.

“She is who she is and she gives it her all,” Oliver said. “Skateboarding is the most important thing to her. It’s her air. It’s what feeds her heart. And that powerful way of being an athlete is why they’re compared to each other.”

Day 2 results

It wasn’t Brevard, but instead Covina’s Lacey Baker who will represent Southern California in the women’s street finals on Sunday. Baker placed fourth with a score of 18.96.

Four Southern California skaters competed in the men’s park quarterfinals – Tristan Rennie (Rialto), Curren Caples (Ventura), Cory Juneau (San Diego) and CJ Collins (Victorville) – and all of them advanced to the semifinals Saturday. Juneau, who won the event last year, had the top score at 81.66.

Eric He is an intern covering sports for the Southern California News Group. He is a recent graduate of USC, where he majored in journalism and served as sports editor and managing editor of the Daily Trojan. Eric has previously interned at NBC Sports, MLB and USA TODAY. A Bay Area native, he reluctantly concedes that the food is just a bit better down here.

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